The unabridged audio version of my 1983 novel The Nagasaki Vector,
brilliantly read by the great libertarian radio host Brian Wilson, is finally
available for purchase.

Many feel that this is the funniest book I've written so farat least
intentionallyand features our old friend Win Bear, G. Howell Nahuatl, a
sapient coyote, time traveler Bernie Gruenblum, and Georgie, the time machine
who loves him.

A fellow reports in his blog that he was delighted to read the
no-longer heavy and bulky edition of Tolstoy's War and Peace
on his new Nook e-reader. However:

As I was reading, I came across this sentence: "It was as if a
light had been Nookd in a carved and painted lantern...."
Thinking this was simply a glitch in the software, I ignored the
intrusive word and continued reading. Some pages later I
encountered the rogue word again. With my third encounter I
decided to retrieve my hard cover book and find the original
(well, the translated) text.

For the sentence above I discovered this genuine translation:
"It was as if a light had been kindled in a carved and painted
lantern...."

Someone at Barnes and Noble (a twenty year old employee? or
maybe the CEO?) had substituted every incidence of "kindled"
with "Nookd!"

Paper Manby L. Neil Smith
You may be old enough to remember 1971. Among other things, it was
the year that cigarette ads on television and radio were outlawed, in naked, blatant
violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the left wing
theory (for which read, "excuse") being that there's some meaningful distinction
between regular speech and "commercial" speech, the latter of which, it's claimed,
is not protected.
 READ ARTICLE

Thoughts on the Diamond Jubilee:
Sixty Years a Rubber Stampby Sean Gabb
Those of us who pay attention to such things will have noticed a
difference between the BBC coverage of the Golden Jubilee in 2002 and of the present
Diamond Jubilee. Ten years ago, the coverage was adequate, though reluctant and even
a little stiff. This time, it has been gushing and completely uncritical. There are
various possible reasons for my observation. The first is that I was mistaken then
and am mistaken now. I do not think this is the case, but feel obliged to mention it.
The second is that Golden Jubilees are rare events, and Diamond Jubilees very rare
events, and that extreme rarity justifies a setting aside of republican scruples.
The third is that the BBC was taken by surprise in 2002 by the scale of public
enthusiasm, and does not wish to be caught out again. The fourth is that, while not
particularly conservative on main issues, we do now have a Conservative Government,
and this is headed by a cousin of Her Majesty. There may be many other reasons.
 READ ARTICLE

Identity Without Ego and Self-Actualizationby Christopher McAllister
Newborns do not know hate. It is obvious with nothing more than a
passing glance that ideological hatreds must be learned from those charged with shaping
young minds; after all, the statement that ideological anything must be learned is
tautological. The world's social problems do not stem from anything innate to human
nature. The division and strife we see resulting ultimately in heartbreaking cruelty
is purely a result of certain inculcation.
 READ ARTICLE

Self-Taught is Best Taughtby Bob Wallace
I don't remember much from grade school, especially in-between second
and fourth grade. It's mostly a blank. I chalk it up to being in public schools. For all
practical purposes I might as well been asleep. Now that I think about it, for the most
part, maybe I was.
 READ ARTICLE

The unabridged audio version of my 1983 novel The Nagasaki Vector,
brilliantly read by the great libertarian radio host Brian Wilson, is finally
available for purchase.

Many feel that this is the funniest book I've written so farat least
intentionallyand features our old friend Win Bear, G. Howell Nahuatl, a
sapient coyote, time traveler Bernie Gruenblum, and Georgie, the time machine
who loves him.